Self-playing musical instrument.



F. W. DRAPBR, SELF PLAY'ING MUSIGAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION rrLmrArms. 1905. 4 927507 Patented July 13,1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

W//l/l/l/l//l/j//l//////// P. W. DRAER.

SELF PLAYING MUSIGAL INSTRUMBNT.

APPLIGATION'PILED APR. 3. 1905.

,cer

UNITED ESTATES PATENT OFFICE,-

FRANCIS w. DRAPER, or DETROIT, MICHGAN, AssIGNon TO FARRAND ORGAN COMPANY,

or nnrnorr, MIcHicAN, A CORPORATION. 4

SELF-PLAYING MUSICAL INSTRUMEN '17r Specfieation of Letters Patent.

Patented J ly 13,1909.

Application filed April 3, 1905. Serial No. 253,'547.

residing at Detroit, in the county of Wayne and State 'ot' Michigan, a citizen of the United States, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in self-Playing Musical Instruments, of which the following is a SPOClfiCLOD, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The invcntion relates more particularly to the Construction of pianos, adapted for either manual or automatic operation of the string striking action. g i

Itis a primary object of the invention to obtain a Construction of automatic action which is,capable of being placed within the case of anordinary manually operated piano without change in the latter, and to this end, the nvention conssts 111 the peculiar construetion and arrangement of parts'as hereina'tter set torth.

In the'drawings, Figure 1 is' a vertical cross section through a. piano to which. my

Fig. 2 is an entrating the auto-pneumatic action. Fig. 3

is a sectlonal perspective view of some ot'` the parts of Fig. 2 det-ached. Fig. 4: is a horizontal view on line c-w Fig. 2.

In the manufacture of pianos, it is usual to provide a key supportingbed, which projects forward beyond the lower portion ot the case. The purpose of this over-hang is 'to provide the necessary room for the feet of the player, and bring the pedals in most con-` venient relation to the keys for easy manipulation. Thus, the player can perform upon the instrument with greater ease than where less room is and the relation.

Heretofore, in the Construction of combined automatic and nanually 'operable pianos, it has been found necessary to provide greater space within the case than with the ordinary piano for the placing of the automatic action, and in certain constructions this additional space .has been obtained by provided beneath the key bed pedals are shifted into some other shifting the front panel atthe lower portion of the case forward and correspondinglv shifting forward the pedals. The result 'is that the instrument. is not as well adapted for easy manual operation'as the ordinary piano on account ot the changed relation between the pedals and the keys 'and the cranpother feature of the Construction is that the whole system of pneumatics for the ai1t0- natic action is arranged beneath the 'key bed, and the connections to the tracker, which is above the key bed, are for-med by tubes passing through the beitbctween the keys.

As shown, A is the case of a piano of any ordinary Construction, l the key bed theretor, C thevke's, and D the hammer action operated thereby. .Below the key bed is the front panel E of the case, which is the usual distance in rear of the front edge of the bed. This arrangement leaves comparatively a narrow space between the said. panel and the harp F of the piano, which is insufficient-to receive the entire system of pneunatcs ;tor theautomatic action, as hereto- :fore constructed. vVith my Construction, I have succeeded in so compactly arranging the several pneumatics of the system that all may be stored within the space above referrecl to, as well as the pumping and store bcllows for supplying wind to the action, the Construction being as followsz matics -for Operating the hammer action, the pneumatics of each tier exte'ding almost completely across the space between the front panel E and the harp and being` hinged at the ends adjacent to the panel.

'H are rods connected to the movahle portion of each pneumatic and extendin upward in rear of the key bed intoproxmity to adjustahle buttons I depending from the keys, the arrangement being such that the operation of the pneumatics will push upward the rear ends ot the keys and through the medium of the letter, actuate the hammer action. u A Above each tier of pneumatics G is' a wind 'chest J and associated primary and secondary pneumatics for controlling the respectve power pneumatics. In order that both the primar-y and secondary pneunates may be arranged within a limited space, they are arranged in adjacent series and are staggered in relationto each other.

ln detail, the wind chests J are preferably formed of a bottom section a, upon .by boring.

'ward-portion t/ also by boring.

b are connected bycross bores b with rett w'alves L it is evident that 'the planes 'ot complete the connection between the heres' 'i'ront edge of the section Z),

which the priinary and secondary pnen-' inatics are placed, and a. top section b having inonnted thei-ein the priniary valves K and the secondary valves L. The eonnections between these val ves and their respective pneuinatics which they control, are ;tOl'llCCl by Channels preferably section c; and the tions a, and b.

The prnnary and are preterably o't the poueh type, 2'. c. they been stated., the prinai'y and seconchiry pneuinati'cs ar'e arranged lll adacent series and staggered *in relation to each other, this arrangeincnt perinitting` oi' locating the circnlar recesses (f, f, in a eonparatively narrow space. lhns, the entire width ot the chest J is only equal to or slightty less than the pnennatics ti. 'the valves .i. and ll are located in cells in the section b, so as t`o be 'in vertical alineinent with the pouehes of the priinary and secondary pnennatics. -tt/here the structure is 'l orinettot wood, the section/1 is preterably :tornied withit s tor- -war| portion 1/ ot lesser width than -its rear portion tlells b are their itiorned and co inter-boring the rear portion 72 and. ports U* aretornied in the tor- The cells istering bores in the section c which extend to the respective pnennatics t. The bores b* connect with intersectingcross bores b extending inward t'roni the front', edge ot the portion o'. i

'l`he lower section a is bored t'ron its tor ward edge to alternatelj( intel-shet' with the reeesses f', t'oi' the p-inar and seeondni'y Valve ponches. These bores (L and a coninnnit-ate with registerin bores e', e in the t'ront section e ot the chest. The bo'es e connect with tnbnlar condnits ?ti leading to the tracker, white the heres e'-"connnnnicatc With the bores b leading to the bores 7)* tor the priinary vaives. As the heres c`-` are in .line with the heres a and 'the latter are in the vertical plane ot the eells b 'or the they would be ont of aiinethent withthe bores b, which are in the plane ot the ports b* intermediate adj'acent cells ?3 Thiis, te

are 't'orned in the which extend 'l'ron the bore-s b into registration with the heres 0 NVith the constrnctimi above described, a very compaet arrangenent `ojt parts is obtained and also one which permits of ready access to the valves when necessary. To this end, the sections and (Z are preferably ?f and 0?, channels b? in the front I rear section Ll of the chest and connecting ehannels termeti n the sect secondary pnetnnatics` so as to be in ettect integral and niay nonnted within the case, while the sections i Z) and e are Secured by serewsand may be l easily removed. The oifset in the section b torned between the portions b' and b thei-cof, perniits ozt' arranging securing screws /z, which extend through the portion I between the cell-s b" and secure the section Z t to the section Z. The section c may also berenovably secured by screws passing between t the boi-es e anche and engaging with the i sections (r and b. t

' thi-i illnstrated, three ticrs ot'power pneunn''tics (Jr, each provided with the chest J as above described, are arranged beneath the key i bed anii in the space between the front. board i E and the harp ot the piano. Beneath these pninnaties is a space for the punping and store bellows, so that. the entire automatic t action, with the exception of the tracker and t inusic winding` nieehanisni, is beneath the t key bed. 'l`he tracker N is n'e't'erably arthe width of the Pnennatic conbetween the to avoid any increase in i npperportion ot the case.

t net-tions are then provided tracker and the printary pneinnaties 'torned by the condnits M above re'tierred to, and

t, these are arranged to pass downward froni l the tracker in a plane forward of the hanit nier at-tion` and thence between the keys and i throngh the bed to the respective chests J.

t The conneetions 'tor the lower chest pass in t t'ront ot' the snperposed ehests and between i the sante and the 'front panel E Thiis, the

lconneetion is practieally the shortest and l most direct that can he inade between the t points of location oi? the tracker, and of the t varions primary valve.

'the operation ot the pnetnnatic action is t in the nsnal nanner well known to those 1 skilted in the art. l\ir passing' through the tracker,theeondnitM, borcs e' and a' operates the ponch pneunatic in recess a which t raises the valve ti., allowing atniospheric prest sure to pass through bores b b b 6 and t uk' and litt pneuntatie g in 'ecess f. The

l pneninatic y in turnraises 'alve L, causing t the collapse ot the power pneinnaties G.

What t claim my invention is:--

t l. pneurnatic action conprising a wind chest, power pneuinatics secnred to and. beneath the bottom oi said chest, primary and secondary pneunjiatics within said chest nounted on the bottom thereof, superposed primar-y and seeondary valves, a section in which said Valves are niounted, forining a detaehable top wall of said chest, and connections between said priinary Valves and secondary pnenmatics, and said secondary valves and power pneuniati'cs respectively located in the opposite side walls of said chest. t

2. i\ pnenmatic action eoinprising a. wind ranged :tbove the key stiriking action, so as' the bottom of said chest, primar-y and secondary pneumatics within said chest, primary and' secondary valves respectively actuatediby said primary and secondary pneumatics, a single detachable top section to said chest in which both of said valves are mounted, a single bottom section in which said pneumatics are nounted, a detachable side wall for said chest having a series ot' parallel Channels therein, recesses in the bottom of said chest connecting respectively' with said primary and secondary pneunatics and alternately with the paral-lei Channels, ports in the top wall of'the chest connecting said prinary valves with the Channels leading to said secondary pneunatics, a passage in the other side wall of said chest leading from said secondary valve to said power pneumatic, and connections between the :litel-nate parallel ports and the tracker.

3. A pneumatic action comprising a wind chest, primary and secondary pneumatics within said chest, Superposed primary' and seconda'y valves nounted in the top section of said chest, a detachable side wall for said chest, having a series of mrallel ports therein, porte in the bottom oi said chest connecting respectively with said primary and secodary pneumatics and alternately with said parallel ports, ports in the top wall of said chest connecting said primary Valves with the ports ieadngto said secondary pneunmtcs, and connections between the alte'nale parallei passages and the tracker.

4. A pnematic action conprisin a .wind chest, ad jacent series of prinary an second- :II-y pucunatics within said chest and staggered in rehtion to each other, superposed primar-y and sccondary valves, parallel passages in the bottom and side walls of said chest, alined and alternately connecting I with said primary and secondary pneumatics. and passages' alined with said primary Valves in the top wall of said chest,

having ofisets for connecting with the alternate passages in the side wall of said chest, which lead to said secondary pneumatics.

5. A pneumatic action comprsing a wind chest, a power pneumatic mounted beneath thebotton of said` chest, staggered primary and seeondary pneumatics -within said chest above said power pneumatic, superposed prinary and secondary valves mounted in the top 'wall of said chest, a passage in one side wal] of said-chest, leading from said secondary valve to said power pneumatic, and passages near the oppsite side wall of said chest alternately leadin from the tracker' connection' to said prmary pneunatic and from the primary Valve to said secondary pneunatic. 0

6. In a pneumatic action, a windchest conprisng a bottom section, a side section pe'na'ently attached thereto, adetachable top and second side section, said top section being ofl'set to form portions of different thickness, and having secondary Valve cells in the thicker portion and primary valve' ports in the thinner portion, said ports and cells being staggered in relation to each other, primary and secondary pneumatics mounted on the bottom section of said chest in alinement with said cells, and ports in the top section, passages in said top, detachable side and bottom of said chest in alinement with said primary and secondary pneumatics, and longitudinal Channels in the'front edge of said top section for cross-connecting the ports of said prinary valve with the passages leading to the secondary pneumatics.

In testimonv whereof I afi ix ny signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD D. AUL'r, AMELIA WILLIAMS. 

